Foreign investors are not yet ready to finance projects in Ukraine due to weak demand for steel products and high risks.
Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest Group, said this in an interview with Bloomberg Television when asked about the impact of the war on investment in Ukraine, the need for peace guarantees and the company’s investment opportunities in neighboring countries.
“The situation in Ukraine remains quite complicated, and we do not see any slowdown in the war. On the contrary, the hostilities have become even more intense over the past six months. Consequently, the investment climate is still not favorable for investments in Ukraine. However, as an international player, especially in European markets, Metinvest has decided to launch a project to build a green steel plant in Italy. This plant will be a pilot project for us and our partner Danieli to restore the Ukrainian steel industry after the war is finally over,” the CEO said.
According to him, freezing the war is not enough, as Ukraine has a negative experience with the Minsk agreements. Therefore, the country now needs reliable security guarantees, and this is the only way to attract large investments, including in green steel. Before that, it is unlikely that significant investments will come to the country.
Regarding the project in Italy, the company’s CEO said that its cost is estimated at EUR 2.5 billion and will be financed through equity investments, as well as mainly with the support of loans from European financial institutions, including state and public funds.
“If we are talking about Ukraine, we will need the same amount of investment to change the Ukrainian steel industry. That is why I emphasize that without the final end of the war and reliable security guarantees, the implementation of these plans in the near future looks unlikely. It is hard to imagine that investors would agree to invest substantial funds in the modernization of the Ukrainian steel industry in the current environment,” Ryzhenkov explained.
He reiterated the need for at least security guarantees: “I’m not sure what kind of peace agreements should be signed, but security guarantees should come from our allies and partners – from the United States and Europe. And they must be strong enough to convince investors that this is a real end to the war and that Russia will not attack again in a few months or years.”
The CEO also noted that investors are simply not investing at the moment: investments supported by European and other governments are being implemented, as well as state investments. However, private investments have been suspended, and investors are waiting for the situation to be clarified.
At the same time, the CEO explained, “we are open to any projects that can provide synergy with our resource base in Ukraine. We are considering the possibility of acquiring and modernizing facilities that do not yet belong to the category of decarbonized steel, but have the potential to become so. There are several facilities in neighboring countries that meet this criterion, but I will not name them, as this may affect the negotiations.”
In addition, the company is studying distressed steel assets with decarbonization potential that can be restored and brought back into operation – these assets are mainly located in Southern and Eastern Europe, which is the region of the group’s operations, and that is why they attract Metinvest’s attention.
Answering a question about the situation on the steel markets, the CEO stated that demand in the steel industry remains weak, especially in Europe.
“Steel companies across Europe are facing difficulties. However, steel remains the most versatile material in the world, and the industry is highly cyclical. So we are currently in the downward stage of the cycle, but we know that a recovery is inevitable in the future. That is why we are ready to invest today to take advantage of future growth,” Ryzhenkov summarized.
“Metinvest comprises mining and metallurgical enterprises located in Ukraine, Europe and the United States. Its major shareholders are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage it.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
Vitagro Group of Companies has invested a total of about $50 million in the development of its projects since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the company’s development and investment director Serhiy Savchuk said at the conference “Doing Agribusiness in Ukraine” in Kiev on Wednesday.
According to him, the main investments were made in the construction of a plant for the production of microfertilizers and plant protection products (PPP) Vitagro Partner, biomethane and bioethanol plants, as well as in increasing the capacity of the oil extraction plant.
Savchuk specified that about $8 million was spent on the construction of the Vitagro Partner plant and more than $6 million on the construction of the biomethane plant. The biomethane plant was the first in the country to be connected to the gas transportation system of Ukraine, and it has been pumping biomethane for export for the third month already.
Investments in the bioethanol plant totaled $20 million, while the expansion of the oil extraction plant’s capacity cost less than $15 million.
“Projects that were planned and developed already during the war. Vitagro Group felt that even in the conditions of war it is possible to work and develop new projects, so, for example, at the state auction bought a distillery in Ternopil region and now it produces 25 thousand tons of biomethane per year. In parallel, the production of protein feed additive for animals (DDGS) is launched, the capacity of which will be 25 thousand tons per year”, – said the representative of the company.
VITAGRO group of companies was established in 1999. In 2021, it employed 5 thousand employees, its revenue amounted to $211.3 million, EBITDA – $101 million.
The group has a land bank of 85,000 hectares. The group also has a seed and crop protection products plant, as well as sunflower oil production facilities and one of the five largest orchards in Ukraine. VITAGRO also has 5,000 head of cattle and 110,000 head of pigs, elevator capacity for 400,000 tons, as well as three brick factories and nine asphalt plants, four solar power plants with a total capacity of 16 MW.
The first pilot biomethane project of VITAGRO was presented in June 2023 in Dobrogorshcha village in Khmelnytsky district of Khmelnytsky region, where a biomethane plant with a capacity of 2.9 million cubic meters per year was built on the basis of a farm and a biogas plant. The investment in the project is estimated at EUR7.6 million. The manure, silage and straw from the group’s farms with pigs and cattle will be used for methane production.
According to the information in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the main beneficiary of Vitagro is MP Serhiy Labaziuk, while its CEO is Petro Labaziuk.
In January-March this year, Dneprometiz-TAS LLC (Dnipro), owned by Ukrainian businessman Sergiy Tigipko, reduced its net profit by 4.5 times compared to the same period in 2023, to UAH 3.915 million from UAH 17.581 million.
According to the company’s interim report, net income increased by 14.5% to UAH 782.886 million in the period under review.
At the same time, the company’s retained earnings amounted to UAH 252.814 million by the end of March 2024.
As reported, in the first quarter of 2023, Dneprometiz earned a net profit of UAH 17.581 million, while it ended the same period in 2022 with a net loss of UAH 8.645 million, with net income increasing by 54% to UAH 683.802 million.
“In 2023, Dneprometiz reduced its net profit by 2.6 times compared to 2022, to UAH 9.658 million from UAH 24.733 million. Last year, net income increased by 8.2% to UAH 2 billion 677.836 million.
“In 2022, Dneprometiz reduced its net profit six times year-on-year to UAH 25.572 million, while net income increased by 1.1% to UAH 2 billion 474.397 million.
“Dneprometiz-TAS produces hardware products from low-carbon steels. The company’s annual production capacity is 120 thousand tons.
The company is owned by T.A.S. Overseas Investments Limited (Cyprus) owns 98.6578 percent of Dneprometiz LLC.
According to the annual report, the general meeting of shareholders of the company on August 4, 2023, decided to liquidate Dneprometiz PrJSC by transforming it into Dneprometiz-TAS LLC (with a change of name). The state registration of the LLC as a result of the transformation took place on December 4, 2023.
The authorized capital of Dneprometiz-TAS LLC is UAH 83.480 million.
“Ukrzaliznytsia has announced the launch of ticket sales for the new international train No. 9/10 Kyiv-Budapest, the company’s press service reports.
“The long-awaited route, implemented in cooperation with the Hungarian railways, will start running on December 15,” the telegram says.
It is noted that the train will be an important step in relieving congestion at popular international destinations by providing a direct connection to Budapest, one of the key transportation hubs in the region. Passengers will be able to conveniently reach Vienna, Munich, Zurich and other European cities.
For comfortable travel, the train will also have compartment and luxury sleeping cars that meet the usual standards for Ukrainian passengers. The schedule provides for departure from Kyiv at 10:16 with arrival in Budapest at 06:00 the next day. The return flight will depart at 22:40 and arrive in Kyiv at 19:11. A ticket in a compartment carriage costs UAH 2800.
Tickets are already available in the app and on the official website of Ukrzaliznytsia.
PJSC Dniprovsky Metallurgical Plant (DMZ), a part of DCH Steel of DCH group of businessman Oleksandr Iaroslavskyi, reduced production of rolled products by 57.3% in January-November this year compared to the same period last year – to 42.9 thousand tons.
According to information in DCH Steel’s corporate newspaper on Thursday, the company produced 7.1 thousand tons of rolled steel in November, down 12% for November-2023.
“Rolling Shop No. 2 conducted another work campaign in November, rolling channels of various grades – from 8 to 30. Now in PC-2 they are finalizing the shipment of products and carrying out repairs of the main equipment. The next rolling campaign is scheduled for January 2025”, – stated in the information.
Coke output for 11 months of 2024 decreased by 1% to 266.1 thousand tons. In November, coke production remained at the level of November-2023 – 23.5 thousand tons.
As reported, DMZ in 2023 increased output of rolled metal products by 86.2% compared to 2022 – to 105.6 thousand tons, coke – by 38.5%, to 292.7 thousand tons.
In 2022, the plant reduced the production of rolled products by 74.2% compared to 2021 – to 58.4 thousand tons, coke – by 56.3%, to 211.3 thousand tons.
DMZ specializes in the production of steel, pig iron, rolled steel and products thereof.
On March 1, 2018, DCH Group signed an agreement to purchase Dniprovsky Iron and Steel Works from Evraz.
Starting in April 2025, Ukrainian airline SkyUp Airlines will start operating regular flights from Chisinau (Moldova) to the most popular destinations in Ukraine. According to the company’s press service on Wednesday, the list of routes includes Spain, Portugal, France, Greece, and Cyprus. Tickets will be available from December 11, 2024.
From Chisinau on Monday and Friday, flights will be available Chisinau (RMO) – Paris (BVA), every Friday – Chisinau (RMO) – Lisbon (LIS), every Wednesday Chisinau (RMO) – Barcelona (BCN) – in this direction, the number of flights is planned to increase to three per week.
Also, on Monday and Friday, SkyUp will operate regular flights Chisinau (RMO) – Alicante (ALC), on Wednesday and Saturday Chisinau (RMO) – Palma de Mallorca (PMI), on Tuesday Chisinau (RMO) – Thessaloniki (SKG), Monday, Wednesday, Saturday with a further increase to four times a week – Chisinau (RMO) – Heraklion (HER). In addition, the company will fly from Chisinau to Cyprus three times a week.
SkyUp clarified that, taking into account the needs and requests of Ukrainians, they chose Chisinau Airport as one of the closest international hubs to the Ukrainian border.
Earlier it was reported that SkyUp increased the number of charter flights by 27% in 8 months of 2014. The company is authorized by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to operate flights to the European Union and has the right to operate commercial flights to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In June 2022, SkyUp Airlines received an operating permit from Switzerland.
